CMC Parent News - Spring 2021
In this issue:
An Inside Look at the Athenaeum with Priya Junnar
#CMC75: A History of the Mothers' Club
Your Student’s Job Search in the New Normal
There no place like home… and CMC
Commencement Update 2021
Parent Network Board - February Meeting Minutes
An Inside Look at the Athenaeum with Priya Junnar
By Rick Verjee P'21
The Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum, or “the Ath” as it’s known on campus, was established in 1970. It moved into its current location in 1983 and continues to be the heart of CMC. In this special Zoom interview, Rick Verjee P'21 talks with Athenaeum Director, Priya Junnar, to discuss how the Ath has adapted to a virtual world and what the future holds.
Watch the video to learn a little history about the Ath, how Priya sources speakers, the active role students play, what a typical Ath dinner looks like, and why it is a unique feature in higher education.
Upcoming Athenaeum events
Did you miss an event? Watch it on the Athenaeum YouTube Channel.
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#CMC75: A History of the Mothers' Club
By Jay Cohen P'23
In September, Claremont McKenna will celebrate its 75th anniversary. For those looking to send a gift, the traditional one for 75 years is a diamond — at least for wedding anniversaries. 75 years is not terribly old for an elite college, but when one considers how drastically the world has changed since 1946, the passage of time becomes glaringly evident. As I began my research for this article and dug deeper into CMC’s history than I had before, there were two aspects of the College that I found to be important and worth noting:
1. The College's initial mission is a relevant today as ever, and
2. Parent involvement was critical to CMC development throughout its history.
Like today, 1946 saw the country in the midst of tremendous change in the post-World War II era. Returning war veterans were looking to find their place in a country that was undergoing significant growth and change and the College’s goal was to educate and prepare future leaders through a combination of business and government courses and a liberal arts curriculum. Instead of training students for just the specific skills they might need for a chosen profession — a logical approach at the time given the dramatic influx of students and a growing demand for many different kinds of professionals — CMC’s first president, George C.S. Benson P'61 and his wife Mabel saw a “liberally informed mind” as an essential characteristic of a strong leader. Classes began before a name for the school was even chosen suggesting a desire to begin implementing the school’s mission immediately.
The year the College was founded, the Bretton Woods system of monetary management went into effect and helped drive significant growth in global trade that resulted in a far more complex global economy. The gross domestic product (GDP) in the United States this year is nearly 100 times greater than in 1946. Of the thirty stocks that made up the Dow Jones Industrial Average in 1946, only one remains in the index and many of these previously important companies have been lost to time. Bonus points for those that can name the surviving company!
This growth and change resulted in a far more complex world that has put different and greater demands on those in leadership positions today. Still, while the demands on today’s leaders are different than they were in 1946, the need for strong leadership combined with the ability to solve problems and view organizations in a broader context is arguably even greater. Not only is there greater geographic interconnectedness, but the intersections of disciplines such as economics, law, technology, sociology, healthcare, public policy, and data science can be observed in many private and public organizations. Having an understanding and an appreciation for these disciplines gives today’s leaders a notable edge as they guide their organizations through the maze of challenges that they face. The College’s mission to educate students to become leaders in students for “thoughtful and productive lives and responsible leadership in business, government, and the professions” is just as relevant today as it was in 1946.
Parents of students have been very involved with the College from its very beginning. In part due to a lack of alumni, the young college relied more the parents of its students for support and fundraising. Just one year after CMC’s founding the Parents' Committee was formed. This committee helped to raise $10,000 ($120,000 in today’s dollars) for the construction of CMC’s first athletic field, now known as Parents’ Field. In 1950, the Mothers' Club was formed and for decades after, the Mothers' Club was a visible and important resource for the College, providing important funding for a host of initiatives. This club held numerous social gatherings around Southern California and such events were often cited in the society pages of local papers. A quick Google search found mentions of the Claremont Mothers' Club in the Van Nuys Valley News and the Arcadia Tribune. The Mothers' Club, along with the Parents' Committee, played a critical fundraising role in the school’s first twenty years. During the 1950s, these organizations raised an average $250,000 per year for the school and in one year (1957/58), these organizations raised over $800,000 ($7.5 million in today’s dollars!). These funds were used to furnish the dormitories, like Green and Appleby Halls; to help build the Student Union Building; and to help furnish Collins Dining Hall.
CMC’s growing alumni base has allowed the school to tap into this community for support, but families still make a material difference in funding Claremont McKenna’s ambitious expansion plans. As important, parents can have a sizable impact on students’ search for jobs and internships either by offering such positions, hosting information sessions with students, and/or providing critical career advice. I hosted a job shadowing day with six students who came prepared with a healthy dose of curiosity and professionalism. Given CMC’s relatively small size, parents’ efforts, whether financial or otherwise, have an outsized impact on the school. As parents, we can contribute materially to the success of the school and the student body. My interactions with students have shown me that they greatly appreciate our efforts.
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Your Student’s Job Search in the New Normal
By Steve Kapner P'22
Last spring the world of work changed, as many companies suddenly moved to fully remote work. When we emerge from the pandemic, will we go back to in-person work?
Some companies say yes. Google, for example, is expected to invest $7 billion in offices and data centers in the United States this year. Some say not entirely. Salesforce, with 54,000 employees worldwide, expects most employees to work fully or partially remote through at least the end of the year. In all cases, companies will employ remote work and remote recruitment at least to some extent.
How does this impact your student’s search for a summer internship or full-time job after graduation?
In some ways the new normal certainly is worse. We saw that with internships last summer. One survey estimated that half of all college internships in the United States were cancelled.
But in some ways, the new normal is better, especially for CMC students and recent graduates. Here’s how your student can turn remote work and remote recruitment to their advantage:
- Geography — With remote work, students have more opportunities for where they can work and importantly, where they live when they are working. Two summers ago, when my daughter was considering internship opportunities, the limiting factor was where she could find affordable housing. Now students can live in a location separate from their internship.
- Flexibility — This is especially relevant for internships. In the past, an internship typically was full time, a set number of consecutive weeks, and in one location. A student would be looking for one of those, and it was all or nothing—they either found one or didn’t. Now, with remote work, a student can pitch themselves for short term or part time internships, and from the company’s perspective, they don’t have to commit to having an entire summer’s worth of work.
- CMC name recognition — CMC is well-known on the West Coast, and actually well-known among many top companies across the country. But it's not fully ubiquitous. That's OK! Companies are already in the mindset that they are recruiting beyond the handful of schools they had previously visited for on-campus recruiting. In fact, many see this as a plus that they can expand their applicant pool.
- Accessing the CMC network — People in the extended CMC family are incredibly dedicated to helping CMC students succeed. This includes alumni, parents, and even parents of alumni. To tap into that, students don't need to meet someone for coffee (though that's always nice). They can connect with anyone in the world remotely, and we all feel that is totally fine. To further support this, CMC will be launching a new platform, Engage.CMC. Stay tuned!
- The CMC education — Landing an internship, and even a job, can often be about playing the long game. That is, it's not about responding to a job posting with the over-edited cover letter or sending a bespoke resume to the one company you absolutely love. It's about being in the right place when it's the right time for the company and for that particular hiring manager. The thing is, a job seeker has no idea when that will be. As a result, they need to build relationships, keep in touch, be persistent, and look for the open window when the door closes. Luckily, these are things CMCers are trained to do!
Remote has many downsides, don’t get me wrong. But if this is the new normal, we might as well make lemonade.
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There no place like home… and CMC
By Lisa Therron P'24
At last, we have confirmed the long-awaited good news that Claremont McKenna’s campus will be open in the fall for new and returning students. Sophie Dvorkin '23, Tatiana Amaya '23, and Grayson Therron '24 were happy to share their plans for returning to CMC, or arriving for the first time. Here are their reflections:
- What did you miss the most while you were away from campus during the pandemic?
Sophie: The thing that I missed most is being surrounded by students who are all motivated to succeed academically, socially, and professionally. So much of the CMC experience hinges on the presence of the community and students, and I really missed having an active support system that was a five-minute walk away. During the pandemic, however, I have found that most everyone is just a call or text away, and have found new friends to lean on through different classes.
Tatiana: What I missed the most while I was away from campus is the face-to-face interactions with students and faculty members. One of the biggest joys I get out of CMC is connecting and hanging out with those in our community. The past year I haven’t been able to do that, which definitely took away from my college experience.
Grayson: I missed being out on my own and having the “college experience” that everyone talks about, and I really missed meeting my classmates and teammates in person.
- What's the first thing you plan to do once the campus opens up?
Sophie: The first thing that I plan to do when the campus opens up again is go to Ath Tea. I have never had a better chocolate-covered strawberry than at Ath Tea, and it holds a special place in my heart as a place to watch my friends goof off on the piano and pause to breathe between afternoon classes.
Tatiana: During the pandemic, I lost touch with many people and I have not been able to reconnect with via Zoom, so the first thing I will do once I return to campus is reconnect with all of my friends and the DOS staff (following COVID-19 guidelines).
Grayson: I plan to attend as many cool events at CMC as I can, such as events at the Ath, hiking around campus, and hanging out on campus. I’m looking forward to meeting my friends and professors in person for the first time. And, I definitely want to try to ski and surf all in the same day!
- How has being away from campus changed your perspective?
Sophie: I think that being away from campus has been such a learning experience. I’ve learned how to navigate the outside world from a desk, maintain a virtual social life, and overhaul my study habits. Virtual life has also taught me an incredible amount about balance. It’s easy to take for granted the ability to just walk away from work and go to a different space to cool off. Coming back to campus, I know that I will be much more intentional than I was originally to create a balance between social life and schoolwork, and I plan to continue to take advantage of all of the resources CMC has to offer to aid in that effort such as office hours with professors and Success Consultants.
Tatiana: My time away from campus has made me value my freshman year experience more than ever. It has also humbled me and made me realize how fortunate I am to attend an institution that has a tight-knit community, strives to build belonging, and works to ensure that every student is set up for success whether in-person or not.
Grayson: Obviously, I never went to campus, but what I have found during my virtual first year was plenty of help at CMC and everyone has made themselves available to me. From my professors, to staff, and coaches, I’ve been able to reach out with any kind of question, and everyone helps right away. The online course content format at CMC was great since I never felt like I missed anything, I could re-watch my lectures and I liked having the flexibility of my classes being “on-demand,” so I could access courses and review whenever I needed the information.
- What advice would you give students who are coming to campus for the first time (both 1st year and 2nd year students)?
Sophie: The most important thing when you get to college is to get to know yourself within this new context and try to figure out what exactly it is you like, otherwise you may be stuck in commitments that are for your resume and not for your personal fulfillment. My advice to incoming students is to go with the flow and not feel pressured to get caught up in all of the opportunities presented at first glance.
Tatiana: My advice would be: 1) Take advantage of ALL the resources the 5C’s have to offer whether that be through extra-curricular activities, the institutes, DOS, CARE, the Soll Center, etc. 2) Spend some time outside!!! This is key. Enjoy the nice weather and use all the green spaces available on campus (e.g. Green Beach, Parents’ Field).
Grayson: While I can’t give advice about what to do on campus yet, but I would tell first-year students to ask for help whenever they are struggling. All the professors and TA’s want to help you succeed.
And to help all the incoming students find the best places on campus, we asked Sophie and Tatiana for a few pointers:
- What is your favorite place to study on campus?
Sophie: One of my favorite places to study on campus is (unsurprisingly) the Crocker Reading Room in Bauer Center. I am a huge fan of the amount of light that comes into the Reading Room during the day, and I am more motivated to study because of the amount of people there at any hour also trying to be productive.
Tatiana: My favorite place to study on campus is on the fourth floor of The Claremont Colleges Library. It is a quiet and peaceful place where I am able to focus on academics without any distractions.
- What's your favorite place to "chill" on campus?
Sophie: My favorite place to “chill” on campus is probably The Hub. The Hub Patio is probably the best place on campus to run into friends, people watch and enjoy Claremont’s amazing weather.
Tatiana: My favorite place to “chill” on campus is The Hub because I can socialize with friends and get a good meal.
Look’s like we’ll be seeing you all at The Hub, out on Green Beach, and all around the CMC campus … very soon!
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Commencement Update 2021
Claremont McKenna College is pleased to announce a student-only, modified ceremony for the Class of 2021 on Saturday, May 15, 2021. the College is committed to providing an opportunity for every member of the Class to be recognized at the May 15 event—in-person or virtually. The May event will be held in addition to the multi-day celebratory weekend scheduled for June 3-5, 2022.
Watch the livestream | More Information
Questions about Commencement? Please email, events@cmc.edu.
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Parent Network Board Meetings
The Parent Network Board meets quarterly to discuss ways to enhance the College experience and to hear from College leadership. Read the February Board Meeting minutes.
Past Parent Newsletters:
Fall 2023
Summer 2023
Spring 2023
Winter 2023